I'm Harry Potter's Twin Sister!
by HermioneFanForever
Summary: An ordinary muggle girl finds out she's Harry Potter's twin. This series is about her adventures in the magical world and how she and her brother team up to get rid of You Know Who for good. First person narrative. [ON HIATUS]
1. Chapter 1

Well, in case you didn't read the title, I'm Harry Potter's twin sister. I know, that's not possible, right? Wrong! I can tell you the entire story, but before I do that, I have to tell you about myself and where I came from...

I used to live in this small one bedroom apartment in Calgary, Alberta with my mom (or so I thought she was my mom). We were pretty poor. I got most of my clothes from the Salvation Army, and we sometimes had to steal food, which I'm not proud of. We tried as hard as we could not to steal, but sometimes, there just wasn't another option. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. I wasn't ugly, far from it, in fact. I was tall and thin, with straight, sleek black hair that fell down to my waist. I had these DAZZLING green eyes, but there was one feature I hated about myself; this thin, ugly scar on my forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. I vowed that if I ever had the money, I'd get it removed. My mother wasn't the greatest mom in the world, but she did her best, and I appreciated it. We both stayed away from prostitution and drugs, which I'm very proud of, and even though we had no money, we were pretty happy.

You're probably wondering why I'm going into so much detail about my life, rather than talking about how I found out I was related to Harry. I'm telling you this, because you need to know me in order to really understand this story. Yeah, my life was pretty crappy, in terms of financial stability, but emotionally, I had it pretty good. I had a mom who loved me, and tried her hardest to give me everything I needed, even if she didn't always succeed, and that was all I needed as far as was concerned. Then one day, everything changed...


	2. Chapter 2

My mom and I were sitting on a blanket on the floor, eating some cold beans out of a can for supper (we didn't have a table or chairs, because we couldn't afford them. Our microwave broke last week, and the repair bill would have put us on the streets). I had just come home from school a little while earlier, and my mom was always interested in my school life, because she believed that education was the key to success, and that if I did well enough, I could leave this hl hole.

"So, how was school today, honey?"

"It was okay." I answered. "We had a fire drill, and everyone was freezing outside, especially me and the other girls in our kilts. It was -30 degrees celcius today! I don't know why I have to go to a catholic school. The uniforms are so impractical." My mother gave me a stern look and went through the same explanation she had told me hundreds of times before.

"I send you to the catholic school, because it's located in the better part of the city. It's a lot safer there. Just last week, a girl who attends the public school was mugged and raped by a gang member. I love you and don't want that to happen to you. You should finish your beans, I'm not sure we'll be able to eat anything else for a while sweetheart." I rolled my eyes at her, but was secretely glad that my mother cared so much about me. A clean, sober, loving mother was not the norm in my area. I was just about to shove another spoonful of raw beans in my mouth when we heard a knock at the door. Immediately, my mother jumped into action. She ordered me to go hide under our bed in the other room (our apartment had three rooms total. The living room/kitchen, the bathroom, and one bedroom where my mom and I shared a twin size bed). She grabbed the biggest knife in the kitchen, and ran to the door, preparing to attack any mugger or rapist who should be on the other side. I know to you this may seem ridiculous, but for my mother and I, along with everyone else in our area, this was a common practice. From under our creaking mattress, I could hear her fling open the door, let out a cry of surprise, and drop the knife onto the floor with a clatter. My heart stopped. What if whoever it was had hurt her? I was about to jump out from under my hiding place to help my mom, when I heard her speak. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"ALBUS! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. Huh, I thought. Who was Albus? My curiosity got the better of me, and I cautiously got out from under the mattress, and walked into the room where my mom and this "Albus" guy were. I saw him, and my jaw dropped.

This was the WEIRDEST man I had ever seen in my life! He had long, silvery hair that reached way below his waist, with calming blue eyes and half-moon spectacles. He wore something like a robe that reached almost to the floor. It was decorated with sparkling stars and moons, and he had a pointed hat to match the rest of his attire. Beneath his robes, I could see scaly-looking pointed boots, and he looked so old, and yet so full of life at the same time. I also noticed that his nose looked crooked, like it had been broken many years ago, and somehow never healed quite right. When he looked up and saw me, and as politely as if we were drinking tea in a cottage together, said "Why hello, Ashleigh. My, you have grown! I trust you are well?", I think I jumped about four feet into the air. He chuckled, and said to my mom, "Quite a jumpy one, isn't she?" My mother nodded in agreement, and held out her hand to me.

"Ashleigh, this is Albus Dumbledore. He's a friend of mine. Why don't you sit down on the floor with us. There's a lot of things we need to tell you."


	3. Chapter 3

I cautiously walked towards the blanket I had been eating my dinner over a moment earlier, and started to sit down, when this freaky looking guy said suddenly,

"Oh, there's no need for that. Why don't we sit in something a bit more comfortable.", and with a smile, and a wave of a wooden stick he held in his hand, three cozy chintz armchairs appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the floor. I had to hold on to my mom for support.

"It's alright, sweetie," she whispered in my ear. "we'll explain it all very soon." Albus turned around with a pleasant expression on his face.

"Well, come on then. Sit." I wobbled to one of the armchairs wth feeble knees and sank into it's fluffy depths with a shuddering breath. I had to speak, but it was hard to manage any audible speech due to my blatant shock. I successfully choked out the words

"W-wh-who...are...y-you?" The old man chuckled and sat in the chair across from me, and my mom sat in the third one beside me. She put her arm around my shoulder and rested her chin on the top of my head. "I," he replied, "am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I laughed out loud at this point. What a crackpot old loon! A school for witchcraft and wizardry? What was this, some kind of cult? I heard my mom's voice, and ceased laughing in order to hear her.

"It's true, Ashleigh. Albus is a very good friend of mine, and...well, I'll let him explain it." She took her chin off my head and looked at Dumbledore expectantly.

"Yes," he replied. "it's difficult to know where to begin, but I will try my very best, anyway. Sixteen years ago, a young married couple by the names of Lily and James Potter were celebrating the birth of their newborn twins. They had one daughter and one son. They were as identical as a boy and girl could possibly be. Lily and James loved both each other, and their two children very deeply, but one night, tragedy struck. An evil wizard, the most feared Dark Wizard to ever walk this earth, called Lord Voldemort, came to their home in Godric's Hollow, on Hallowe'en night, and killed Lily and James. After he had killed them, he turned his wand on their babies, but...it didn't work. For a reason that we may never fully understand, the spell backfired. Reduced to something barely alive, Voldemort fled, leaving nothing but a tiny scratch on the twin's foreheads. The babies were then separated on my orders, for their own protection, if Voldemort ever happened to return. To this day, they still have no idea of their twin's existance." It was a good story, I had to admit, and I figured it must be true, just by the way he spoke, but I still had no idea as to why he was telling me this. I wanted answers! I wanted to know why he was here, why he was telling me this, why three armchairs had appeared out of nowhere in my living room, and why he was spewing out a bunch of jargin about spells, wands, witches and wizards! I figured all this may be too much to say at once, so I settled with something a bit more simplistic.

"Not that this isn't an entertaining story, but...what does this have to do with me?"

"Because, Ashleigh", he answered. "one of those twins is you." I didn't know what to do. I wanted to cry, laugh, scream, faint, and vomit all at the same time. I felt dizzy.

"Wow." I whispered. Dumbledore looked at me kindly, almost grandfatherly.

"I know this is rather a lot to take in at once, but you are a witch, and your brother is a wizard. He is waiting for you at his friend's home in Britain. I would like it very much if you were to come with me there." My trance immediately ended.

"BRITAIN!" I exploded. "That's about half-way across the world! In case you haven't noticed, this is Canada, and I don't exactly have the money for a plane trip across the ocean, and what about my mom? I can't leave her, she needs me! And you!" I turned angrily towards my mom "You're not really my mother! YOU LIED TO ME FOR FIFTEEN YEARS! HOW COULD YOU!" I couldn't hold it in any longer, I broke down crying. My mom rushed toward me and held me close to her with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh baby." she sobbed. "I'm so sorry, but I had to protect you. You were in danger, and I had wanted a baby girl for so long that when Albus offered you to me to take care of, I couldn't refuse. Oh, Ashleigh, from the moment I first held you in my arms, I loved you. You will always be my daughter to me." We stood there together, crying, until Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"I realize this is difficult for both of you, but Ashleigh must come with me and stay under my protection now. I'm sure you already know the reason, and I will be sure to explain it all to Ashleigh later, but even though this is breaking your heart, you have to let her go. You've been her mother for fifteen years, and have done your best, and I appreciate that. Now it is time for her to leave and discover what awaits her." My mother cried even harder, but nodded in agreement. "Will I ever see her again?", she squeaked feebly.

"I promise you will see your daughter again, but it may not be for awhile." Dumbledore replied sadly. That's when I started to cry harder, too. I couldn't believe it. I was leaving my mom, possibly for a very long time, to go live with a bunch of strangers, including my long-lost twin brother somewhere in Britain. "Please don't cry, Ashleigh. You will see your mother again, I can promise you that, but you need to leave as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, I think. For now, try to dry your tears, and get some rest tonight. You have a long day ahead of you. Good day." He was about to walk out the door, when a question that had been bouncing around in my subconcious suddenly came blurting out of my mouth.

"What's my brother's name?" I called. Dumbledore turned around and looked straight at me.

"His name is Harry. Harry Potter."


	4. Chapter 4

That night, I couldn't sleep. There were just too many thoughts and emotions bouncing around in my brain. I had had a whole different life for fifteen years, without even realizing it. Dead parents, a twin brother, a world of magic and spells...it was just too much. I started to cry softly, thinking about the woman who had played the role of mother to me for almost my entire life, and how much I would miss her. I wanted to be louder about my pain. It was so hard letting it out quietly, but I didn't want to wake up mom, who was asleep beside me. (As I've mentioned before, we didn't have a lot of money, so we had to share a rather small bed). Although, judging by her fitful restlessness, I didn't think her sleep was all too peaceful. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I crept closer to her. She half-woke and put her arm around me. I slowly fell into a dreamless sleep. I guess feeling my mother's warmth helped.

The next morning, I was awakened by a distant voice. "Ashleigh. Come on, we have to depart as quickly as possible. Oh dear, you are a stubborn one, aren't you." I suddenly felt a sharp poke on my shoulder and sat bolt upright, rubbing my bruised arm, and glaring at Dumbledore.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" I demanded angrily as I slipped out of bed, and threw on a ratty old robe I had found in a charity bin a few years ago.

"Terribly sorry about that, but we must leave at once." I was a little more than upset at his words.

"I can't believe this!" I yelled. "You expect me to just walk out the door without a backward glance at my mom and my entire life, not to mention the fact that I'm in my pajamas, my hair is a mess, I haven't brushed my teeth, and I haven't eaten breakfast!" Instead of being offended by my words, the old man just smiled and chuckled under his breath. This made me even angrier. "What the h are you laughing about? I don't find this very funny!"

"Ah, so like your brother, you are. I have no doubt you will be as great as him in the coming years." he said. I grumbled under my breath as I tried to smooth out the knots and tangles in my waist-length black hair with my long, somewhat knobbly fingers. "I am prepared to give you enough time to do those morning activities which are so important to one's overall well-being throughout the day, but they must be done quickly." In my irritation, I tripped over a pair of jeans on the floor, and banged my toe rather hard against the cracked and worn baseboard lining the bottom of my wall. I swore loudly. "Tsk tsk. Now a mouth like that will simply not do. I shall have to ask you to hold in your tongue whenever you feel the need to use profanity. At least in my presence." he said cheerfully. I was tempted to say the F word in his face, just to annoy him, but thought better of it.

"Yeah, whatever." I grumbled. Dumbledore led me to the living room/kitchen, where my mom was eating a paper cup full of dry cereal (Cheerios, cheapest you can get) over the blanket on the floor. I noticed the chintz armchairs had disappeared.

"Hey honey." my mom said as I walked in, though I took note of her swollen eyes and sniffly nose. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked.

"Not really". I admitted. Now that I saw her watery eyes, and realized that this was it, I was really leaving her today, my heart gave a wrenching cry, and my tears threatened to devour me. I held it back, not wanting mom to see how scared and upset I was. She shared her cereal with me. I guess there wasn't enough to go around that morning. She offered some to Dumbledore, who politely shook his head and sat down beside me. I suddenly had a question for him. "Um," I began. Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head as if he knew what I was going to ask, but wanted to hear it from me, anyway. "Why now? I mean, according to you, all this happened over fifteen years ago. Why come here and tell me all of this now?" He gave a little sigh, and did a 90 degree angle turn to face me directly.

"To be quite honest, I didn't even want to reveal this to you now." he began, "but with recent events, I soon came to realize that you and your brother would be safer together rather than apart now. You see, I originally separated you, because even with Voldemort gone, I feared he would return and try to finish what he started. I believed that keeping the two of you together was like a target for him. I thought that if you were not with each other, it would be harder for him to find you or Harry. I believed you safe as long as you were apart. For fifteen years, I was correct. However, Voldemort's returned, and more bent than ever on killing you and Harry. Now that you are older, I feel it is time to bring you two together again. Hiding from him is no longer an option. He'll find you, and I think that together, your powers will be enough to stop him once and for all, whereas apart," he paused and shook his head sadly "there's a very slim chance either of you will come out of it alive." My mother gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. As for me, my heart was racing. I was terrified! This guy had just told me that an evil mass murderer was after me and my brother, and that we had to combine our so-called power to stand up to him and somehow thwart his sadistic killing spree. If I had had anything more than half a handful of dry Cheerios in my stomach, I would have vomited. My mom's voice suddenly brought me back to this Earth.

"H-he's back, Dumbledore?" she whispered.

"I'm afraid so, Sorcha", he said gravely. "That is why I must take Ashleigh with me right away. She'll be a lot safer with Harry than she is here." My mother nodded listlessly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. It's amazing how one tear can break your heart.

After breakfast, Dumbledore gave me time to get dressed, and brush my hair and teeth just as he promised he would. As I was brushing my hair in half our mirror (the other half shattered and fell off the wall when we got robbed a few years back, we never had the money to replace it. The little that was taken was basically everything we owned. We practically had to start our lives over from scratch after that), I saw the thin lightning-shaped scar on my forehead. I frowned. Not only did I think it was hideous, I also couldn't believe it was a mark from almost being murdered. I heard Dumbledore calling to me from the doorway. I guess my time was up. I reluctantly walked towards him. I saw my mother weeping as if her heart were being ripped to shreads, which got the tears leaking from my eyes, too. I hugged her tight. I never wanted to let go. I knew this would be the last time I would see her for a long time, so I summoned the words I rarely said to her for fear of not being "cool", but were very true.

"Goodbye, mom." I whispered through my tears. "I love you." She was too distressed to reply, but she hugged me even tighter and kissed the top of my head, which I knew meant that she loved me too. I stepped away from her, both of us trembling with heartache and fear. I was afraid of being with strangers, and being murdered by this Voldemort guy, and I could guess she was afraid for me. Dumbledore put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I know this is hard, but believe me, it's for the best." I did not know how this could possibly be for the best. Your heart isn't supposed to break when it's for the best, but I kept my mouth shut. He grabbed my shoulder and looked down at me. For an old guy, he was pretty tall. "Ashleigh, we are going to perform something called Side-Along Apparition. I don't suppose you know what that is?" I sniffled and shook my head wearily. "It is a rather complex spell involving disappearing and reappearing almost at once in another location. That is what Apparition is. Side-Along Apparition is much the same thing, except the person actually performing the spell takes someone else along with them. It is particularily useful when the person being taken along has not passed their Apparition test, like you." I was too depressed to care that he just told me he was going to do something impossible. Disappearing and reappearing. How ridiculous! I just nodded my head lethargically and followed his next set of instructions. "You'll need to hold on to my arm. Oops, not that one" he said as I reached for one of his arms "I'm afraid that one is a little sore right now". As he said this, I realized that one of his hands was badly burned, charred black, in fact. I gave a small shudder and reached for his other arm. "That's better", he smiled. I suddenly heard a sob behind me.

"Please take care of my daughter, Dumbledore." my mom whispered, then dissolved into tears again. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I can assure you, Ashleigh will be quite safe with me, Sorcha." he said gently. He turned towards me and said "Now...1...2...3...go." I suddenly felt as if my entire body were being squeezed through a very tight tube. My eyes were being pushed far back into my head, and my ears were ringing. My rib cage felt as if it were being crushed. I couldn't breathe. I was sure I would suffocate, when I felt a rush of air fill my lungs. I took a deep breath. My head was dizzy. I felt like throwing up for the second time that day. I heard a woman's screech.

"DUMBLEDORE!" I also heard two young men's voices along with a girl's voice.

"Hey, the twin is here!" one of the male voices said.

"Ron! Don't call her that. You're so insensitive!" This was the girl's voice.

"Geez, Hermione, get a sense of humour." the male voice replied. "Harry thinks it's funny, don't you Harry?"

"Huh...oh yeah...whatever. Help me get her up, guys." the other voice said. I felt three pairs of arms helping me to my feet. I looked up and saw an army of red-haired people, all of them boys, except for the older woman and a young girl. I also saw a bushy-haired girl, and a pretty blonde woman, along with a pink haired woman. My head started spinning again, but it wasn't because of these people, it was because of one guy standing in front of me who looked my age, and was practically a male version of me! He even had a thin, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead! This must be Harry Potter, my twin brother, I realized.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sorry about him." Harry said. "He doesn't have very good people skills." I was still too shocked to laugh.

"Hey! I have plenty of people skills! Don't I, Hermione?" the red-haired boy protested.

"Sorry, Ron, but you are a bit tactless." she replied. I didn't know what I should do. Should I shake hands with everybody and introduce myself? Should I walk around and examine things? Or should I just stand here, and have all of these people stare at me? Harry saved me the trouble of facing this dilemma by introducing everyone to me. he pointed to the bushy-haired girl and the red-haired guy.

"This is Ron and Hermione. They're my two best friends." Hermione gave a friendly smile, and Ron did a kind of stupid-looking wave. "Okay, all the red-heads are the Weasley family. There's Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny." All of them smiled welcoming at me. Harry then pointed to the pink-haired woman ."This is Tonks. She's sort of like our body guard. When I say our, I mean you and me." I couldn't believe it! I needed a body guard? Harry then pointed to the pretty blonde woman. "This is Fleur, Bill's wife. They just got married a few months ago." The blonde woman smiled.

"Eet eez a pleasure to meet you, Ash-a-lee." she said in a thick French accent. One look at her protruding belly told me she was pregnant.

"Well, now that you know everybody, I guess I can show you where you're sleeping. It's the same room where Hermione and Ginny are staying. Come on." He led me up several flights of rickety stairs. "So... do you have a voice?" he asked.

"Huh." I answered.

"You haven't said a word since you got here. I was beginning to wonder if you were a mute."

"No, I'm not." I answered "I just don't really feel like talking, that's all." Another wave of sadness washed over me. I missed my mom so much already. Harry looked at me with sympathy.

"I know what you mean." he said. He did not elaborate. "Here's your room." he said suddenly, and opened the door. Inside were three beds that looked like they had been crammed in there at the last minute. There was hardly space to move, the room was so small. One bed had stacks of books piled beside it, with titles like "The Study of Ancient Runes Grade 7" and "Hogwarts: A History". The bed crammed in the other corner of the room had pictures of the girl introduced as Ginny, and my brother, Harry, smiling and laughing. I won't even get into how shocked I was too see the photographs MOVING! I looked at Harry.

"Is Ginny your girlfriend?" I asked. It certainly seemed that way from the pictures. He went only slightly red and replied in a small voice "Was. Those pictures were taken a while ago. We er... aren't together anymore. For her safety." I felt so bad for the poor guy, he looked so sad. I didn't understand the last part of what he said, though.

"What do you mean, for her safety? Is she in danger from this Voldemort guy, too?"

"Everyone we love is in danger. He's not just after us, he's after everyone we care about, too." I thought about my mom and my heart dropped. She was in danger!

"So my mom...she's in danger?" I asked in a feeble voice.

"Mom?...Oh, your foster mom. I'd be lying if I said no, but she's probably safer now that you're not with her." I nodded, and looked at the last bed squeezed right in between Hermione and Ginny's beds. It was completely bare, except for a fluffy blanket and a pillow. Something suddenly hit me.

"I didn't pack anything." I said. Harry just gave a weak smile and said

"Dumbledore will make sure you get everything you need." At that precise moment, a big luggage bag appeared on the bare bed, filled with all my clothes and belongings (which wasn't much, but hey, what are you going to do?) My mind took a moment to digest this piece of magic. I was starting to get used to it. Barely. I thanked Harry, and sat down on the bed. "Mrs. Weasley will probably have lunch on the table soon. She'll let you know when it's ready. See you."

"Bye." I replied. He left the room with a backwards glance at me and shut the rickety old-looking door. I sat on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Everybody seemed nice enough, and it was extremely kind of them all to welcome me into their lives, so why did I feel so empty? I wondered how far along Fleur was in her pregnancy. I also wondered about what Mrs. Weasley was going to cook for lunch. I knew these were stupid, meaningless thoughts, but I wanted to think about something normal. I wanted to forget about the danger I was in, and how Voldemort wanted to kill me. I told myself that I would really try to fit in with these people. They were so nice to me and I didn't want to seem ungrateful. I had almost dozed off when suddenly, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley came in with a little box in one hand, and a big, motherly smile on her face.

"Oh, hello, dear." she said warmly, closing the door behind her.

"Hi." I answered weakly.

"I know this is all rather difficult for you, Ashleigh, but all of us here are delighted to have you with us. I just wanted to give you a little something to welcome you to our rather odd family", she laughed after she said this and handed me the tiny box in her hand. I was very shocked! These nice people even got me a gift! I felt a little guilty and embarrassed at this. The Weasley family didn't look as if they had much money, and I knew first-hand how hard it is to give something you don't really have to someone.

"Oh, Mrs. Weasley...really...I can't take this..." I began.

"Nonsense! Of course you can. Go on now, open it up." She looked expectantly at me. I slowly took the little box and opened the lid. I gasped. In the box was a beautiful necklace. It had a white gold chain, with a sparkling stone of peridot glittering on the end. I had never even touched anything this beautiful in my entire life!

"Oh wow! It's georgeous!" I whispered. Mrs. weasley beamed, and I thought I saw a bit of mist in her eyes as she said

"It was your mother's. She never took it off. It matched her eyes." I looked up at Mrs. Weasley, and tears filled my eyes. I didn't even know why I wanted to cry. I had never known this woman who had been my mother. I didn't even know what she looked like, yet somehow, this tiny necklace meant so much to me. I hastily choked back my tears and smiled. It was the first genuine smile I had given since I first found out about my true identity.

"Thank you." I whispered. Mrs. Weasley patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm glad you like it, dear." she replied. "Lunch is ready. You can go downstairs and eat with the rest of us, or I can bring you up a tray if you're not feeling up to it." I decided to repay her kindness by going downstairs to eat. I also wanted to get to know everybody a little better.

"I'll come downstairs to eat. Thanks." I said. Mrs. Weasley gave me one last pat on the shoulder and exited the room. I gingerly took the necklace out of its box, and fastened it around my neck. I took a look at myself in the tiny mirror lying at the foot of Ginny's bed. I looked pretty. The peridot matched my eyes, too. With renewed confidence and a sense of hope, I stood up and walked out of the tiny bedroom to eat lunch with everybody, little did I know that I would find out a lot of information about Voldemort, too.


	6. Chapter 6

As I walked down the stairs, everybody was already seated at the table and they all smiled at me. I quickly ran through all the names in my head so that I wouldn't forget them, later. Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Tonks, Fleur, Hermione, and of course, my brother Harry.

"Hi..." I said shyly, as I sat down between Harry and Ginny.

"Well, what do you know? The mute speaks!" Fred...or George, I couldn't really tell them apart, cried in mock incredulity. I looked down at my plate very quickly.

"Fred! Is that any way to treat a guest?" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "You apologize to Ashleigh this minute, young man."

"Aww, mum. Ashleigh knows I was just joking, don't you?" he asked me. I lifted my head to look at him.

"Yes...I did." I replied.

"See, mum? Ashleigh's got a sense of humour." he said jauntily. Ginny piped up beside me.

"Not like _Percy_." She scowled. Mrs. Weasley's eyes misted over, Mr. Weasley went red and scratched the back of his neck, Fleur and Tonks looked uncomfortable, but everybody else nodded enthusiastically in agreement. I was totally out of the loop on this one.

"Um...who's Percy?" I asked tentatively. Beside me, Ginny let out an angry hiss, but said nothing, however George...or Fred (again, impossible to tell them apart) had no trouble expressing his thoughts.

"He's our good-for-nothing prat of a brother. The slimy git ran out on the family after being promoted and severed ties with all of us. Well, good riddance I say." he spat as a chunk of potato flew off his fork and landed in the gravy dish after being shaken too vigorously. I could not think of a reply to this, so I just nodded to say I knew who Percy was now, and returned to nibbling at my peas. Lunch was a little subdued after that, but eventually, conversation started to pick up again. It wasn't long before the talk turned around to the subject of Voldemort.

"Well, I'll just be glad when he's apprehended. All of these Death Eater incidents have forced me to work overtime. Last week, I worked 20 hours straight! Can you believe it? 20 hours!" Tonks said wearily, shaking her head.

"I know what you mean." Mr. Weasley sighed. "Dark devices have been popping up all over the place, and I've been the one sent in to clear them all out. I haven't had a good night's sleep in months." I listened on, interested in what they had to say. It seemed like Mr. Weasley did some sort of work involving getting rid of dangerous magical objects, and Tonks was sort of like the wizarding version of an RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) officer.

"Are you any closer to figuring out where he is, Tonks?" Harry asked through a mouthful of beef.

"I'm afraid not." she replied. "We have arrested a few suspected Death Eaters, but that's about it. Nobody's seen or heard of him since that run in at Hogwarts. Apart from all the mysterious deaths, of course." Harry looked slightly put out. I remembered Dumbledore saying he was the headmaster at some school called Hogwarts. I wondered if this was the same place.

"What happened at Hogwarts?" I asked politely. Harry slapped a hand over his forehead, covering the scar identical to mine.

"Sorry, Ashleigh, I keep forgetting how little you know about this stuff. At the end of the previous school year, Voldemort had a bunch of Death Eaters sneak into the castle with the help of a moron named Draco Malfoy. Watch out for him" he warned. "He brings nothing but trouble wherever he goes. Anyway, the Death Eaters got into the castle and wreaked havoc. Professor Snape, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, seemed to have killed Dumbledore, but it was really just a way to get Voldemort to think that he was dead so he'd be more open about what he was doing..." and he gave me the entire story, from our parents being murdered to all the incidents and run ins he's had with Voldemort. By the time he had finished, everyone's plates were clean, and there was much yawning going around the table. Fleur was asleep, her head resting on Bill's shoulder while he gently stroked her hair. I was beginning to feel drowsy myself, when suddenly, Mrs. Weasley spoke. "Goodness, you lot look exhausted." she exclaimed. "Maybe you should all go to bed. We have to get up early anyway to go to Diagon Alley. We need to get all your school things. Tonks, will you be there to guard Ashleigh and Harry?" she inquired. Tonks snapped out of a half-doze.

"Wha...oh yes. I've got Shacklebolt to cover for me if I can't be there, so either way, they'll have maximum security." she replied, now looking more alert. It felt odd to be talked about like this. Like I wasn't there or something. Harry seemed to notice my anxiety. He leaned close to my ear and whispered

"You'll get used to it after a while. Trust me." I let out a grudging little smile as he drained the last of the pumpkin juice from his goblet.

"Well, that's that." Mrs. Weasley said. "You lot had better get changed into your pajamas and off to bed."

"But mum!" Ginny protested, "It's only five o'clock, and we just finished lunch!" Mrs. Weasley did not seem to be fazed by her daughter's resistance.

"Well, it was a late lunch, and all the excitement that's gone on today, what with Ashleigh arriving and all, has tired everyone out. Look, even Fleur is asleep." she pointed out, for Fleur was still slumbering against her husband's shoulder. Ginny gave a dramatic sigh and rose from her chair. She seemed to have given in to her mother. Everyone else followed suit, with Bill gently prodding Fleur awake and kissing her lightly on the forehead before helping her up. I guess the extra weight of carrying her baby was already starting to get to her. I walked up the stairs after Hermione and followed her into the room we'd be sharing with Ginny. After we had all changed into our nightclothes and clambered into bed, Hermione and Ginny started talking.

"I don't see why you two don't get back together." Hermione whispered.

"I've told you, Hermione. He won't. Every time I bring it up, he gives me the same speech about how he doesn't want me to get hurt, but I don't think he realizes how much this is hurting me on the inside." I thought I heard her voice tremble at her last words. Hermione and Ginny obviously were under the impression that I was asleep, otherwise they probably wouldn't be sitting here, talking about my brother's love life in front of me. I wish I could have just fallen asleep right then and there, but the sounds of the adults talking downstairs wouldn't allow it. I was stuck here, whether I liked it or not.

"You know he's only doing this because he loves you." Hermione said bracingly.

"I know, but I love him, too, and I want to be with him, whether he's The Chosen One or The Boy Who Lived or not. I don't know why he can't see that." Ginny whimpered.

"I think he does" Hermione replied "but he just won't risk your life for anything. All you need to remember is that he loves you, and everything will be okay in the end. You'll see."

"I hope you're right, Hermione." Ginny whispered. At that moment, I decided to let out a rather loud cough which startled Hermione and Ginny into silence. Soon, I could hear the slow, methodic breathing of the two of them. They were sleeping...finally. I heaved a sigh of relief and dozed off.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ashleigh, Hermione, Ginny. Time to get up, dears. We need to get to Diagon Alley early." I was awoken at the crack of dawn by Mrs. Weasley. Beside me, I heard Hermione moan and Ginny mumble about indecency. I had to agree with her. Waking someone up before the sun has fully risen is indecent. I crawled out of bed and dragged myself to the bathroom, Hermione and Ginny following behind me, all of our hair a brutal mess. The boys met us in the bathroom, looking just as weary and we all brushed our teeth together. It was quite difficult, because there was only one sink and we all had to take turns spitting out our toothpaste. I wondered how the Weasley family managed.

After we all filed out of the bathroom to get dressed and comb our hair, we all met downstairs in time to see Mrs. Weasley putting the most delicious assortments of breakfast food I had ever seen in my life on the table. There was bacon, hashbrowns, sausage, eggs, pancakes, omellette, and enough pumpkin juice to satisfy an army. I sat down at the table beside my brother, Harry. My mouth was watering. It was hard to wait for everyone else to take their seats. Mrs. Weasley began piling food onto my plate. Once she was finished with mine, she proceeded to do the same with Harry. The rest of the Weasley's looked like they would have to get their own food. I always wondered why parents were nicer to other people's children than their own. Across the table, Ginny yawned.

"Mum, why do we have to get up so early? It's not like it'll be crowded. That place has been a ghost town ever since You-Know-Who came back." Mrs. Weasley frowned at her daughter.

"Well, it's nice to get a fresh start, anyway." she argued. Inwardly, I groaned. I was up at the crack of dawn for no reason? Oh well. At least the food here is good. Once Bill and Fleur, the last people to arrive in the kitchen, sat down, we all started inhaling our food like we were human vacuum cleaners. Before I fully had the chance to enjoy my breakfast, Mrs. Weasley was throwing our cloaks at us and ushering us into the living room. I felt a little left out, because all the others had long, robe-like cloaks that swept the ground and I had a normal, ordinary jacket which I had gotten from my favourite place... The Salvation Army. We were all cramped in the Weasley's tiny little living room. I wondered why we were here if we were going to this Diagon Alley place. Wasn't the front door in the hallway?

"Okay, everyone." Mrs. Weasley said as she took a large jar filled with weird powder off the mantelpiece above the fireplace. "Take a handful. Hmmm, we're running low again." she murmered. Everyone walked forwards and took a handful of the powder. They all seemed to feel this was normal behaviour. What was going on? When Mrs. Weasley offered the jar to me, I looked at her quizzically.

"Mrs. Weasley, Ashleigh doesn't know how to travel by Floo Powder." Harry told her.

"Oh, yes. I forgot. Sorry, dear." Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"You just grab a handful of Floo Powder, throw it in the fire, say the place you want to go, then jump in." My brother told me. I was confused.

"You want me to jump into fire?" I asked him. I didn't know about everyone else here, but I had been taught NOT to touch fire since childhood. Ginny giggled.

"Don't worry. It's perfectly safe." she said.

"Unless you say the place wrong and end up in Knockturn Alley, like Harry." Fred howled. I was starting to tell him and George apart a bit easier. Harry scowled at Fred, but said nothing. I was still doubtful, but decided to give it a shot.

"Okay, I'm trusting you guys." I said. Shaking my head, I grabbed some Floo Powder, watched my brother step into the emerald flames and whirl out of sight, then followed suit. "Diagon Alley!" I yelled into the fire, and walked in the flames. Immediately, I was whirling around and around in some strange vortex. Images of other fireplaces whirled past. I was spinning around and around until I thought I might toss my breakfast, until suddenly, I was thrown unceremoniously from the strange swirling tube onto a hard floor. I looked up and my jaw dropped!


	8. Chapter 8

I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I had just stumbled out of a fireplace in a little pub. All around me were signs of magic. The old barman was waving his wand at a couple of glasses which were cleaning themselves, a young woman was chatting with her friend, while her baby's carrier rocked itself back and forth, and a very pale man with rather long, pointed teeth was sucking on something red and sticky in a glass bottle. I suspected this was a vampire. Harry had told me about them that morning when we were brushing our teeth. Above me, a crooked wooden sign read "The Leaky Cauldron". I was so in shock that I forgot to move away from the fireplace and Fred came tumbling through, knocking me to the ground. After Fred followed George, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Thankfully we managed to push each other off and scramble out of the way before anyone else fell on top of us. Everyone in the pub was staring at us now, so we decided to brush the soot off ourselves and go outside.

Harry took out his wand and tapped the brick wall behind the pub a few times and a huge archway appeared in front of us, leading to what must have been Diagon Alley. I won't get into how flabberghasted I was to see all the strange shops that sold strange items. There were only a few people in the street and they all looked very nervous and worried as they went about their shopping. There were posters everywhere about Voldemort and wanted Death Eaters. It was quite spooky.

"All right, everyone." Mrs. Weasley announced. "We are going to be splitting up in groups. DO NOT leave your groups for any reason! ANY REASON!" she barked. Everyone nodded. "Good. Now Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ashleigh will be going with Tonks. Myself, Arthur and Ginny will be going with Mad-Eye. Bill, Fleur, Fred and George will go with Shacklebolt and Charlie can go with whomever."

"I guess I'll go with Harry and Ashleigh, then." he said, shrugging.

"Right, well, that's settled." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Where is Tonks, Mad-Eye and Shacklebolt?" Harry asked.

"They said they'd meet us here, I expect they'll be here shortly." Mr. Weasley replied. As soon as he said this, three people popped out of nowhere in front of us. I stumbled backwards. Harry grabbed my shoulders to keep me steady.

"Hello, there. Terribly sorry we're late, but Mad-Eye insisted we go investigate a reported sighting of Inferi near Godric's Hollow." Tonks said, rolling her eyes. "Turned out to be some kid trying to scare his little sister."

"Better safe than sorry." the man called Mad-Eye growled. I didn't know what Inferi were and I didn't ask.

The very tall, handsome black man who had arrived with them nodded and said "You're Ashleigh Lily Potter?" Technically, I wasn't. I was Ashleigh Lily Smith, but I'm guessing that had never been my real name, so I nodded.

After we explained the groups to Shacklebolt, Tonks and Mad-Eye, we were off shopping.

"Ashleigh needs a wand, cauldron, gloves, school robes, and class books and supplies, is that right?" Tonks said cheerfully. I nodded and we went and bought all of my things. My wand was awesome! Mahogany, 60 and 1/2 centimetres, bendy, unicorn tail core. By now, I was beaming. I had never had so much fun in all my life. We were walking by the Magical Menagerie when my brother suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Ashleigh, would you like a pet?" he asked.

"Sure, but I'm out of money." I replied simply.

"Don't be stupid, I'm buying it for you." Harry replied.

"Oh, are you sure?" I asked skeptically. Harry just grabbed my wrist and led me into the shop.

"We're allowed to bring an owl, a cat, or a toad to school with us. Which one would you like?"

"Um... well, I've always liked cats." I said. Harry let me pick out which cat I wanted. I found a lot of really pretty ones, but one of them caught my eye at once. It was a small, ragged thing, with one eye missing and only three legs. I was in love at once. I picked her up and cuddled her in my arms. "I want this one." I told Harry, smiling. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing and paid for the tiny little ragged feline. I decided to call her Sorcha, after my mother which is Celtic for "bright, radiant light". After we left the shop, with Sorcha hobbling behind us, we ran into a blonde, snobby-looking guy.

"Well, well, well." he sneered. "It's Potty and the Weasel... oh, and let's not forget Miss Mudblood Granger." At once, both Ron and Tonks whipped out their wands threateningly. Uh oh, I thought. This could get ugly.


	9. Chapter 9

"Take that back, Malfoy!" Ron snarled. Tonks glared at the blonde guy. This must be that Draco person Harry warned me about, I realized. I decided I didn't like him. I scowled, too.

"Or what, Weasley? You'll cry?" he laughed derisively.

"Go help your Death Eater father, oh wait. You can't. He's in Azkaban." Charlie chuckled. Now it was Malfoy's turn to scowl. He looked as if he were about to say something, but then he seemed to catch a glimpse of me and his eyebrows dissapeared into his hair. He turned to Harry.

"Is she an over-the-top fan of yours, Potter or were you two separated at birth?" he snerred.

"Actually, yeah. Malfoy, I'd like you to meet my twin sister, Ashleigh." Harry replied. I laughed silently at the look on Malfoy's face. He looked like a clown that had just been clubbed over the head. A maniacal gleam erupted in his eyes, and I was aware that I was suddenly shivering. Malfoy seemed to regain composure, and gave a mock smile. "Well, aren't you just full of surprises." he replied. "I have to go. I'd die if I were seen chit chatting with poor folk and mudbloods." With that, he turned to walk away, but as he passed Harry and I, he whispered so that Tonks couldn't hear. "When my master finds out about this, you're both dead." he hissed malevolently. Harry's face paled slightly, but he stayed cool.

"Let him try." Harry hissed back. "We'll be waiting, we're not afraid." I didn't know about him, but I was scared to death! My new cat, Sorcha suddenly arched her back and growled at Malfoy. With one last dirty look, he was gone.

"Slimy git." Tonks muttered. Everyone nodded in agreement. She looked down at her watch and gasped. "Oh no! We're late for meeting Mrs. Weasley back by the gate! She's going to have a fit! Come on!" Tonks grabbed me by the wrist and practically dragged me back to where Mrs. Weasley was waiting, looking anxious and worried. After assuring her that everyone was perfectly fine, we used the floo powder to get back to The Burrow. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was. At the dinner table that night, I actually fell asleep on the tablecloth. All embarrassment put aside, Fred prodded me awake and I went upstairs to bed, carrying Sorcha with me. I made a makeshift bed for her at the end of my bed with an extra pillow. She hobbled over to it and snuggled down at once. I followed her example and collapsed into my own bed for the night. It would have been nice if I hadn't had so many nightmares involving Malfoy and Voldemort plotting to kill my brother and I. I guess you can't have sweet dreams every night, right?


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up the next morning to Sorcha licking my face. I smiled and gently picked her up and took her downstairs with me. Harry met me on the stairs and asked me if I slept well. I decided to be truthful. "Not really." I said. He gave me a sympathetic smile

"Don't worry about Malfoy. Even if he does report to Voldemort, you heard Dumbledore. We're stronger when we're together. We've got a chance of defeating him." I nodded and continued downstairs with Sorcha. Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly at me when I walked into the kitchen.

"Remember to have all your things packed for Hogwarts by next week, dear." she said kindly.

"I will, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks." I replied. Well, it turned out that the following week went by rather uneventfully. Ginny had some screaming matches with Ron, Hermione had some screaming matches with Ron (popular guy, eh!), and Sorcha and Crookshanks tried to kill each other every time they crossed paths. Finally it was time to go to Hogwarts. I wasn't quite sure what Hogwarts was, but I had gathered that it was some sort of school that taught magic, and apparantly, I was invited to attend there. The night before our departure, Dumbledore came to visit me at the Burrow.

"Well, Ashleigh. How has your stay with the Weasley's been?"

"Freaky." I replied. He chuckled and sucked on a Sherbert Lemon. When he was finished, he continued.

"Well, since you're starting your magical education extremely late, we're going to have to take unusual measures to ensure you are caught up with the rest of the children your age." I really hoped he wasn't talking about putting me in the first year. From what I've heard, first year is for the eleven year olds and technically I was supposed to be in the seventh grade, my last year. Dumbledore seemed to read my mind.

"We are not putting you in first year, as that probably wouldn't be very enjoyable to you, but you are going to be required to take extra tutoring lessons in your spare time at Hogwarts." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Who's going to teach me?" At that moment, Hermione stepped into the living room where we were sitting.

"Why, Miss Hermione Granger will be your teacher." Dumbledore smiled. I wasn't worried. From what I had come to know of her, she was a total genious with absolutely everything except Quidditch (whatever that was). I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do." she said. "Six years of catching up, in fact." I nodded, a little overwhelmed at all the work I would be doing at Hogwarts. Before he sent Hermione and I up to bed, Dumbledore leaned forwards slightly and whispered something in my ear.

"It would be best if you didn't reveal to anyone that Miss Granger is teaching you. The Ministry could get wind of it, and the Minister for Magic will throw a fit if he finds out I am allowing a student to take on the job of fully-qualified witches and wizards with teaching licenses." I promised I wouldn't and Hermione promised she would keep her mouth shut, too. Well, since I had to go to Hogwarts the next day, I decided to go to bed early, so that I wouldn't be the last one out the door tomorrow. I fell asleep almost instantly, and didn't even hear Ginny and Hermione come in to sleep, later on.


End file.
